48 Hours in Vegan Eating: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

The first installment of our new vegan-eating journal series follows the cookbook author in Portland.

Ever wondered what other vegans munch on for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Us too! Not only do we like to drool over the thought of vegan food across the country, but we also like to compare and contrast our own healthy strides, guilty pleasures, and off-the-cuff snacks with fellow folks of the plant-based persuasion. For our new 48 Hours in Vegan Eating series, we’ll follow some of our favorite figureheads on their daily compassionate culinary adventures. We decided to start with Isa Chandra Moskowitz of The Post-Punk Kitchen, supposing that she would have an enviable array of meals, snacks, and treats to read (and fantasize) about, and we weren’t disappointed.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Breakfast: It’s my first day in Portland (visiting from my home base of Omaha, NE) so I had to go out for the Country Comfort breakfast at Vita Café. That’s scrambled tofu (they also offer tempeh, if you prefer), a biscuit with gravy, potatoes, and steamed veggies.

Lunch: Breakfast was big, so I didn’t have a full lunch … although I may or may not have stepped into Back to Eden for a piece of peanut butter fudge at some point. (Full disclosure: I was housesitting for the owners of the bakery, taking care of their kitties and pup!)

Dinner: Some friends and I sat at the Portobello bar and shared about a million plates. Among them were the Watermelon Salad, which completely converted me to the melon-salad world. Of course we had to have Portobello’s famous Pan-Crisped Potato Gnocchi, which was tossed with summer veggies: corn, orange pear tomatoes, and summer squashes. Even though bartender Lauren knows everything about wine and uses words like “mineral-y,” we opted for mixed drinks to wash it all down. Blueberry gimlets for all!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Breakfast: I’m not usually a sweet breakfast person, but when in Portland! I enjoyed my favorite cinnamon bun in the world at Dovetail bakery, accompanied by some strong coffee.

Lunch: For lunch I met Vida Vegan Con organizer Jess of Get Sconed! and we hit up the Mississippi Marketplace food carts, sampling items from local food trucks Native Bowl and Homegrown Smoker. The Couch bowl at Native Bowl, with lots of fresh veggies and owner Julie’s ridiculously addictive spicy sauce, and some Mac and No-Cheese from Homegrown were just what the afternoon doctor ordered.

Dinner: After such a big lunch, I decided to skip din-din. Although, I did find myself at vegan bar The Bye & Bye close to midnight, drinking their signature drink (also called the Bye & Bye, duh!) and sharing a grilled-cheese sandwich with a buddy. I also discovered that if you order a side of the rice, beans, and greens, you can kind of stuff some of those ingredients into the grilled cheese, and it’s pretty good! But maybe only if you’re a little buzzed.